Interview with Joel Can you tell us a bit about the formation of Flights? Adam (drums) and Joe (guitar, vocals) had been in bands together since they were in school. I'd seen them play quite a bit as we all lived in the same town, and my old band would play the same shows so we all knew each other. Adam and I started talking about forming a new band together as we had similar tastes in music. Joe met Dean (bass) at uni and it all just came together from there really. It was great timing because I got a call from my friend after our first practice asking if I wanted to head to Abbey Road for a day of free recording! At this point we barely had written anything but we were up for it and (after frantically pulling a song together) we went into the studios the next weekend to record a very early version of 'Stitched to the Bone'. We all had such a good time that we decided to keep going and the rest is history.
So, For an unfamiliar reader can you describe what you sound like? Hmm – we get described as 'Progressive Rock' which I suppose we are in a way. I guess that's a term that gets thrown at most bands that play around with time signatures and structure, but we don't really think in terms of genres. We have guitars, drums and bass, big riffy bits, pretty delicate bits, some big, uplifting harmonies and some dark, sparse melodies.
Are there any particular bands that have influenced your sound since you've begun? There are a few bands that we're all collectively fans of (yourcodenameis:milo, Radiohead, Dillinger Escape Plan and Oceansize to name a few) and they all have an influence on us. I think we're lucky because everyone has an input in the writing process, and everyone brings their own personal ideas and preferences. Adam likes stuff like The Chariot and Dean loves Lou Reed - it all goes into the mixing pot. There are some bands we've all been listening to recently: Vessels, Three Trapped Tigers, The Joy Formidable, And So I Watch You From Afar and Young Legionnaire. I don't think it directly influences us but we definitely get inspired through hearing new music.